LONDON: UK Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday warned the Parliament that there's no choice but to back the Brexit.
"The choice is clear: We can choose to leave with no deal, we can risk no Brexit at all, or we can choose to unite and support the best deal that can be negotiated," May told parliament in a statement.
In a major blow, four more ministers including May's Brexit secretary quit on Thursday.
Indian-origin Shailesh Vara was the ministers to resign over a "half-way house" divorce deal with the European Union. Minutes after, Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab resigned from the Cabinet. Earlier in the day, junior ministers Esther McVey and Suella Braverman also quit office.
"We are a proud nation and it is a sad day when we are reduced to obeying rules made by other countries who have shown that they do not have our best interests at heart. We can and must do better than this. The people of the UK deserve better," said Vara, Conservative Party MP for North-West Cambridgeshire, who has been a minister in the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) since January.
"I cannot support an indefinite backstop arrangement where the EU holds a veto over our ability to exit. No democratic nation has ever signed up to be bound by such an extensive regime, imposed externally without any democratic control over the laws to be applied, nor the ability to exit the arrangement," said Raab.
"It is with deep regret and after reflection that I have had to tender my resignation today as a Brexit Minister. Thank you for the opportunity. I look forward to working to support Brexit from the Backbenches. This has not been an easy decision," Braverman said in a tweet.
It is with deep regret and after reflection that I have had to tender my resignation today as a Brexit Minister. Thank you for the opportunity. I look forward to working to support Brexit from the Backbenches. This has not been an easy decision. pic.twitter.com/C0kply8aLE
— Suella Braverman MP (@SuellaBraverman) November 15, 2018
The May government suffered a total 18 resignations since last November, ten of which are related to Brexit. The other 16 ministers who've quit include Michael Fallon, Priti Patel, Damian Green, Justine Greening, Amber Rudd, Greg Hands, Phillip Lee, David Davis, Steve Baker, Boris Johnson, Andrew Griffiths, Guto Bebb, Tracey Crouch and Jo Johnson.
The resignations are being seen as a sign of bigger troubles ahead for May, who is set to defend the agreement before MPs in the House of Commons on Thursday.
Meanwhile, European Council president Donald Tusk confirmed November 25 as the date of an emergency summit where the remaining 27 EU member states are set to formally approve the withdrawal agreement.
With agency inputs
